'Fast Food' dishes up an old tale that somehow hangs together

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In "Fast Food, Fast Women," all the characters are looking for love. But they're really good at screwing things up just when they're getting close.

It's an old tale - and there are many reasons why this one should fail. But for all the off-key notes sounded by this story of an overworked New York waitress, a trio of her customers and a loutish cabbie, it never falls apart.

Writer/director Amos Kolleck seems unwilling or unable to keep his movie on track, his gaze wandering to too many characters in far too many situations. But between the damaged look of waitress Bella (Anna Thomson), the open, lonely face of widower Paul (Robert Modica) and the snarling asides of the no-good cabbie Bruno (Jamie Harris), the actors save Kolleck from himself.

"Fast Food, Fast Women" * * ½ With Anna Thomson, Jamie Harris, Robert Modica. Written and directed by Amos Kolleck. 96 minutes. Rated R for sexuality/nudity and language. Broadway Market.

Bella is about to turn 35, wants to get married and have kids, but has dedicated her life to a New York diner. She's involved in a hopeless affair with a married man and is pestered by her disapproving mother to meet Bruno, a friend's relative. Everything goes wrong for them until a few things start going right.

Although mostly conventional, the movie does stray into arty fantasy at a few points. It doesn't really fit, making for a film that isn't quite coherent. But we make it through to the end and somehow, despite our good senses, find we enjoyed the journey.

John Zebrowski can be reached at jzebrowski@seattletimes.com.